ALEXA users may have to pay for upgrades to the voice assistant as Amazon mulls a monthly fee - but users say they will "switch in a heartbeat".
Jeff Bezos' tech giant is set to bring in a conversational generative AI similar to ChatGPT for Alexa.
But the AI will have two tiers of service with the company considering a between a £4 and £8 fee to access the better version.
Decade-old Alexa has long been loss-making for Amazon since it was introduced with the Echo line of speakers n 2014.
Sources told Reuters that Amazon has dubbed the new voice assistant "Remarkable Alexa" and given a staff an August deadline to complete it.
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There is also reportedly no tie in with Amazon's £95-a-year Prime membership.
But some Alexa users weren't fans at the thought of having to pay for what is currently a free service.
One user said: "In a heartbeat I would switch to some other platform. All I use her for is turning lights on and off, and playing music or setting cooking timers."
Another wrote: "I'll probably pay a monthly fee if it becomes necessary, mostly because changing / investing in a whole new system seems like a pain in the butt, but there may come a time when I decide the negatives outweigh the positives."
While a third posted: "I have been saying this shit for a year. This is why alexa is getting dumber. To encourage you to spend this money."
Amazon told Reuters in a statement: ""We have already integrated generative AI into different components of Alexa, and are working hard on implementation at scale—in the over half a billion ambient, Alexa-enabled devices already in homes around the world—to enable even more proactive, personal, and trusted assistance for our customers."
ChatGPT's sudden ascent has spurred a massive explosion in AI developments from the likes of Google and Microsoft.
In April, Amazon boss Andy Jassy revealed that the company was working on an "even more intelligent and capable Alexa".
"We’re building a substantial number of GenAI applications across every Amazon consumer business," he said.
The AI news comes as Alexa customers are about to lose vital access to shopping and to-do list apps.
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Shopping and to-do list apps such as AnyList and Todoist will stop working with Alexa voice commands on July 1, reported The Verge.
The Sun has contacted Amazon for comment.
